We should work hard to stop the spied and try to eradicate our computers of those malicious codes. Adware isn’t exactly a virus, but it is software that consistently displays marketing messages and advertisements on our computer screen. Spyware works more dangerously and it could masquerade as a supposedly useful tool, but silently steal our essential information. They could appear as pop-up windows or banner advertisements. There are spyware and adware removal solutions in the market that we can use.

This software can be installed on our computer to deter threats of spyware and adware. It will scour our system’s memory for traces of unauthorized activities. Existences of spyware and adware could also be detected in web browser cache, system registry and file system. A good removal software should be able to quarantine and eradicate any suspicious item that it finds. It should actively monitor the computer and blocks any attempt to inject the computer with harmful digital payload.

There are numerous reliable anti-spyware software solutions in the market and some of them are free. As an example, the Spybot Search & Destroy and Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware SE Personal should provide us with good removal solutions. Some anti-spyware packages are available at different prices, up to $39.95 each year. We should choose and install any of these software solutions and make sure they protect our computers properly. We should be able to prevent spyware from intruding our system and gather essential information about us.

Unfortunately, unlike most antivirus packages, these anti adware and spyware solutions may not be able to check for updates automatically. So, it is important to perform the task manually, so we could find real protection from daily threats in the Internet. At least, the software should tell us if the definition database is outdated and need to be updated quickly. We should be able to perform spyware and adware scan at least each week automatically. If we surf the Internet rather extensively, it is more important to frequently the scan.

When we finally have fully updated removal software, it is the time to perform the spring cleaning session. We should eliminate any trace of illegal activities in our computer. Unused cache, temporary files and other digital junks could clutter our PC and make things run much more slowly. With time, such a clutter will degrade the overall performance. One real bad case that could is when someone gains an unauthorized access to our PC. They could read our files and easily lean so many things about us. This situation could really help malicious individuals to steal our identity.

Even if we have a powerful antivirus and anti adware/spyware combo, it doesn’t make sense if we do things badly. We should use some common sense and think before we click. Some common sense should go a long war when we try to protect our computer. Things that compromise our security can come from unexpected places, such as email messages from a close friend who is infected by malicious codes. For this reason, we should definitely think before we click.